According to Social Media Today, over 97% of users search online for local businesses and 46% of Google users search for local information. To get a spot in local ranking on search engines, let’s get started with local SEO. Local SEO is an important thing for any start-up because when anyone searches online for your products or services near them, they can see your website on the first page of search engines like Google and Bing and it operates regionally which is focused on ranking websites specific location, while national SEO ranks websites on a specific search term over the country basis. A strong local SEO strategy helps your website to get higher ranks, more potential local customers, more leads, and even market your product on brand online.
Local SEO strategy is more focused on reaching out to the local potential audience. It is the best way to compete more strategically and effectively against larger brands which have unexpected resources to spend. By optimizing Local SEO, your business will value propositions which will bring more traffic instead of optimizing for broader keywords. Without having a Local ranking, you could lose a large amount of traffic from getting to your website. Here we are going to discuss the top 7 ways to improve Local SEO.
Top 7 Ways to Improve Your Local SEO
Here are the top 7 ways to improve local SEO which are mentioned below:
Create an Account on Google My Business
Optimize for Voice Search
Optimize Your Website for Mobile Users
Collect Reviews From Customers
Create Content on Local News or Stories
Create Local Link Building
Research Local Keywords
1. Create an Account on Google My Business
Creating an account on Google My Business for your business is the best way to get a higher rank on Google Maps, which also helps to increase your brand visibility for local searches. To get access to Google my business, you need an account. Your Business Profile, which appears in Google Search local results, on Google Maps, and on the Google Search Knowledge Panel, will be updated once you provide all the requested information in your Google My Business account dashboard. To optimize your business profile, you need to ensure the following things:
You need to create an account on Google My business and confirm the ownership of your business.
Provide all the real information according to requirements.
You can add images, logos, time schedules, products or services, and payment options.
Encourage your target audience to write a review on your account.
Repose to those reviews
Publish posts on any events, about your products or services to your business account.
Keep Eye on Competitors’ Business Profiles.
2. Optimize for Voice Search
Today, users are more likely to search online using their voice. Voice search has been increasing rapidly all over the world. So, it is important to optimize your website for voice search. If users search for local products or services related to your business, your website will come on the first of the search results. This would be possible by SEO strategy. Most users voice search with long-tail keywords because of this, you need to use long-tail keywords in your content and it needs to be more conversational.
The best way to do it is using questions and answers in your content. While optimizing voice search, you need to consider user intent because most users do voice search when they need to know any specific information. For example, if someone asks Alexa to find a family restaurant near me for lunch, they expect more specific and quick answers. If your target audience uses voice search for your office address, the content should be readily available.
3. Optimize Your Website for Mobile Users
Today, people like to search for anything on their mobile. According to the Stone Temple study, when they conducted a survey on mobile vs desktop users, as a result, they found that over 63% of users search websites on their mobile rather than using their desktop for searches. Another Uberall commissioned a study, they found that over 82% of users search for “near me” information using mobiles. This is proof of how people like to search for anything using their smartphones.
So, make sure your website is created for mobile users also by using responsive design. So that mobile users don’t get any glitches while scrolling your website from their mobile. You can also add CTRs to refer to click-through rates on your website and use this on your GMB listing.
4. Collect Reviews From Customers
Getting reviews for customers does not just help you with maintaining the visibility of your brand on the GMB listing but also encourages potential local customers to purchase your products or services. According to a recent survey, users like to see online reviews before making any purchases.
That means you need a number of authentic customer reviews for your business growth. Keep an eye on such platforms where Google could expect businesses to have reviews. In order to collect reviews, Google looks for GMB listings and websites, also you can also get reviews from social media platforms which help you to maintain the visibility of your brands and get noticed by the more local target audiences.
5. Create Content on Local News or Stories
You can grab the attention of your local customers with content that directly addresses a local issue. Here are some ways to create content for Local SEO:
You can write blogs on local news, stories, events and activities
You can also create videos for your business’s events, and local charities related to your business
You can add location-based web pages consisting of high-quality local content
6. Create Local Link Building
Link building is the best way to influence your search engine rankings. In order to boost your link profile with local SEO, you'll also need to build links. In any case, your target location should be more relevant to the linking domains. According to Moz’s report, link-building is the one and only important factor for local pack results which also helps you to get more organic traffic to your website. Partnerships, guest postings and comments are the best way to get more backlinks from local sites.
7. Research Local Keywords
For local keyword research, you can use Google keyword Planner which allows you to select filters for getting location-based keywords. So, you get an idea of your keywords in a given region. ?You create a list of keywords which you need to add to the website so you can download the sheet of keywords.
Conclusion
Google algorithm changes rapidly. You never know when Google will add a new feature for local searches. So, that’s why it is important to prepare yourself with how you can improve your local search ranking with an effective local SEO strategy. We hope this article on top ways to improve local SEO will help you to understand it better. If you want to read more articles on trending topics, keep your eye on our blog page.